Cloverfield Destroying January Records

Paramount Pictures’ highly-anticipated Cloverfield dominated the box office its first day in theaters with an estimated $16.8 million from 3,411 theaters. Made for just $25 million (plus marketing costs), the J.J. Abrams-produced movie will easily beat the all-time 3-day January weekend record held by “Star Wars: Special Edition” ($35.9 million) and the 4-day Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend record held by Black Hawk Down ($33.6 million). Cloverfield‘s three-day total should come close to $50 million, and the four-day should surpass the $50 million mark.

20th Century Fox’s 27 Dresses had a strong opening as well, earning an estimated $7.7 million from 3,057 theaters in second place. The romantic comedy stars Katherine Heigl (“Grey’s Anatomy,” Knocked Up).